Green Energy News | May 14, 2000

May 14, 2000 – Vol.5 No.7

ENERGIES... week of May 14, 2000

GREEN ENERGY JAPAN. The announcement by Marubeni Corporation to build a 26 megawatt wind farm in Japan, as well as other announcements from Japanese industry, may be Japan’s first baby steps into the green energy industry.

In April Marubeni created the Minami-Kyushu Wind Power Corp. to develop the project and apply for a government subsidy from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization to support the project.

The New Energy organization is affiliated with MITI, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. MITI has plans to promote the development of green energy in the nation - up to 3.1 percent by 2010 - by forcing electric retail power companies to purchase a portion of their electricity that is generated from renewable sources - wind, solar, biomass and run-of-the-river small hydro systems.

The heart of the MITI plan involves the establishment of a Green Credit System where the government would issue certificates to electricity producers (which in Japan are separate from retail power companies) equal to the amount of renewable energy generated. In turn,retail electric companies would be obligated to buy renewable energy, or the certificates, from the producers. MITI, through the New Energy organization, would also create subsidies for renewable energy projects.

In the end, Japanese consumers would pay for this. However, the MITI plan would make it financially feasible for companies to enter into the renewable energy business, thus spur the development of new business and resulting job opportunities in the still economically troubled nation.

MITI has been instrumental in the past for bringing economic prosperity to Japan by creating a hit list of specific products for Japanese businesses to target in international markets. MITI’s success could do for green energy what it did to bring high-quality small cars, electronics and a host of other products to consumers worldwide.

BATTERIES NOT DEAD. Beyond the publicity surrounding the possibility of hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicles in our future, advanced rechargeable vehicle battery technology still moves forward to meet current and expected demand.

Rechargeable electric vehicles already being built need batteries. Hybrid vehicles also carry a large and expensive battery pack. Some fuel cell vehicle designs, too, are reported to have large battery packs.

Power Technology Inc. has developed a battery technology that could reduce the weight and cost of lead-acid batteries and increase their energy capacity. The company recently received a patent on reticulated foam-like plates which, because of their porosity, have a much larger surface area than typical battery plates. The greater the surface area of a battery plate, the greater the area for electrolyte to come into contact, thus the greater the battery’s capacity to deliver electric current. The plate technology is analogous to a kitchen sponge which can hold a large amount of water despite its small size.

According to the company, the technology could also be applied to other battery chemistries such as nickel-metal hydride.